OMAHA, NEBRASKA, U.S. — Gavilon Grain, LLC announced on Aug. 23 that it plans to construct a 800,000-bushel, slip-form concrete grain elevator with an additional 4 million bushels of bunker storage capacity near Benkelman, Nebraska, U.S.

The state-of-the-art, 110-car BNSF shuttle facility will feature 60,000-bushel-per-hour truck unloading capability and a high-speed grain dryer. The Benkelman facility will handle corn from the 2010 harvest and is expected to be fully operational for the July 2011 wheat harvest.

"We are pleased to be expanding our grain facility network with the addition of our ninth grain elevator in Nebraska," said Matt Gibson, director of merchandising and operations western region of Gavilon Grain. "The new facility will allow us to better serve and develop new relationships with producers in southwest Nebraska."

The Benkelman facility will be located at the intersection of Highway 34 and Highway 61, south of Benkelman city limits. Joe Theiler, elevator manager at the Imperial, Nebraska facility, will be meeting with area producers to bid on corn and wheat.